Question 1

Which of the following is a key component of environmental justice that can assist in addressing environmental health?&#10;A) Disease prevention and health promotion&#10;B) Investigation of environmental hazards&#10;C) Food and water safety in all communities&#10;D) Fair treatment and meaningful involvement of people

Accepted Answer

Environmental justice is defined as fair treatment (reducing inequitable consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations in the execution of federal, provincial, and local laws, regulations, and policies) and meaningful involvement of people in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies, which consequently contributes to assessing and controlling environmental factors that impact health.

Question 2

Which key consideration is important for guiding a toxicology evaluation of the potential health effects of any substance?&#10;A) Biological response to a substance&#10;B) Exposure to large dose of a substance&#10;C) Duration of exposure to a substance&#10;D) Intervening factors

Accepted Answer

One of the fundamental tenets of toxicology is that any substance can be a poison if given in a large enough dose. Therefore, if the amount of exposure is high, a thorough risk assessment is required.

Question 3

What key information is important for developing an environmental protection control strategy when human exposure to a toxicant is identified or likely?&#10;A) Environmental media&#10;B) The exposure pathway&#10;C) The population of concern&#10;D) Estimates of exposure

Accepted Answer

The major exposure routes or exposure pathway for humans are inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. Knowing this information is important for developing a control strategy that can limit or address exposure in the short term.

Question 4

Why should the health care sector actively work toward reducing the impact of the health care system on climate change?&#10;A) It is responsible for protecting the vulnerable in society.&#10;B) To promote cleaner energy sources.&#10;C) To support general social responsibility.&#10;D) It is a large consumer of natural resources and energy.

Accepted Answer

The health care sector is a large consumer of resources and energy and should therefore try to lessen its contribution to climate change by supporting reuse and recycling in health care facilities, turning down air conditioning to conserve energy, reducing waste associated with health care supplies, educating the public, and modelling good practices.

Question 5

Which source of water contamination is known to be toxic and affect both drinking water safety and recreational water safety?&#10;A) Snowmelt runoff&#10;B) Blue-green algae&#10;C) Chemicals used in water parks&#10;D) Water fluoridation

Accepted Answer

Blue-green algae can contaminate drinking water and recreational swimming water when they form blooms. The blue-green algae, which are actually cyanobacteria, produce cyanotoxins that are toxic to the skin, liver, and nervous system of humans.

Question 6

What is the most common source of toxic chemicals that are linked to human health concerns?&#10;A) Chemicals used in packaging&#10;B) Air pollution&#10;C) Food contamination&#10;D) Drinking water additives

Accepted Answer

Food contamination accounts for up to 95% of daily intake of persistent toxic chemicals, largely because of the use of pesticides and chemicals during food production, antibiotics given to animals used for food, and through food additives and preservatives.

Question 7

Why are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) becoming an increasing global health risk?&#10;A) Prevalence of POPs is increasing with globalization and product importing.&#10;B) Worksite exposure to POPs in production is increasing.&#10;C) POPs pose a risk for pandemic outbreak management.&#10;D) POPs biomagnify and travel away from the release source.

Accepted Answer

POPs can biomagnify in the ecosystem and be carried very long distances away from the source of their release. This represents a global health concern, especially for those who live in the Arctic and face greater exposure.

Question 8

Why is global action on the World Health Organization's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) important for improving and maintaining environmental public health?&#10;A) The SDGs assist in reducing the risk of global violence.&#10;B) The SDGs meet present and future population needs.&#10;C) The SDGs increase investment and support the economy.&#10;D) The SDGs increase production of goods and services.

Accepted Answer

Sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Global action on the WHO's SDGs promotes a focus on meeting the needs of the present- without compromising the ability of future generations to preserve environmental health-by promoting sustainable cities and communities, affordable and clean energy, climate action, reduced inequalities, clean water and sanitation, good health and well-being, responsible consumption and production, and environmental protection of the land and oceans.

Question 9

Which of the following are key steps that need to be followed in a toxicology assessment? (Select all that apply.)&#10;A) Exposure assessment and monitoring&#10;B) Hazard identification&#10;C) Dose-response assessment&#10;D) Subjective evaluation&#10;E) Risk characterization

Accepted Answer

There are four major steps in a toxicology risk assessment of any environmental contaminant: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment and monitoring, and risk characterization.

Question 10

What are the key elements of a multibarrier approach to protecting and ensuring safe water? (Select all that apply.)&#10;A) Responding to adverse water quality reports&#10;B) Monitoring contamination&#10;C) Ensuring a safe distribution system&#10;D) Instituting multiagency water monitoring&#10;E) Treating drinking water

Accepted Answer

Key elements of a multibarrier approach include protecting source water from contamination, protecting the distribution system, responding to adverse water quality events or reports, and treating drinking water.

Deck 11: Environmental Health